


like a letter wrote

by snowcrystals



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, day 3: reunion, rinharuweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-26 08:36:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2645318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowcrystals/pseuds/snowcrystals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru finds some old letters of Rin's in some boxes after they moved in together.</p>
<p>day 3 (red prompt): letters that were for you</p>
            </blockquote>





	like a letter wrote

Haru found the letters in one of Rin’s boxes, a few days after they moved in together. They were tied together with a rubber band and buried beneath everything else, as if Rin had been desperate to hide them. Two of them were in AirMail envelopes, the remaining two in plain, as if they were never going to be sent to begin with. The first two - the AirMail ones - had an address, while the others were bare, aside from the date on the back.

Haru wasn’t sure if he should read them, though he admitted he was curious to see what was inside. He quietly snuck out of the room to check on Rin, who was taking a nap on a futon downstairs.

He crept back to the bedroom and sat on the bed. He flipped open the thick first letter, and bit back a smile. The writing was almost illegible, as if twelve year old Rin had too many thoughts and his hand wasn’t keeping up. There were exclamation points everywhere, which completely summed up the way he was at that age.

_to haru!!!_

_i’ve been here a week and it’s so cool!!!!!! i went to the beach on my first day! it’s winter here but it’s still warm enough to swim!!!! there are people surfing and the water is so blue and i really really think you would like the water here i mean i know you basically like all water but i think you’d like this water especially!!!!!_

_i’m staying with a family and they’re called russell and lori and they have a puppy named winnie!!!! they’re super nice and they’re so nice to me and they even tried to make me food from home!!! it wasn’t as good as home though hahaha but it was still good!!!! they always make sure i’m comfortable even though it’s so strange here!!!! i think you’d like them too!!!_

_school is hard and i don’t understand very much but i will try hard! my classmates are helping me to fit in and even invited me to luna park this weekend!! i’m gonna take lots and lots of photos and put them in this letter so i can show you all the sights!!!!!! i know you hate fun and it will probably make you angry (haha just kidding) but i’m gonna show you anyway!!!_

_ok now onto the best part: swimming! the pool we swim at is MASSIVE! even bigger than the one at iwatobi!! i’m a little slower than my teammates but i’ll catch up!!! i reckon you could beat them all though!!! i just have to work a little harder and i’ll be able to as well!!!!!_

_well i’ll write to you again when more stuff happens!!!_

_from rin_

_ps LUNA PARK WAS AWESOME!!!! i went on all of the rides and ate so much food and took so many photos!!!! i put some in with the letter!!!!! also included some photos of other stuff!!!!_

_ok bye._

Haru fished out the bundle of photos. There were about twenty of them, slightly creased and faded. The first one was a group shot in front of the gaping mouth of Luna Park, with the glowing and happy Rin at the centre. The next was of the Ferris Wheel with its bright carriages. Then a photo of Rin behind a cloud of pink fairy floss. A few more of various rides and group shots. Two of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House at night. A couple of Winnie, looking much smaller than Haru remembered her.

He put aside the photos, vowing to make sure Rin kept them. He pulled out the next letter, which was about the same length as the first. It was dated as being about three months later, and it was a lot more carefully put together than the last.

_To Haru,_

_I didn’t end up sending the last letter. I sort of chickened out, I guess! Oh well, I’ll send it with this one! I hope you’ll like the photos, hehe._

_I’ve sort of settled in better now, I’m more used to the way Australians do things. For example, they’re always late! I’m always the first one there if we go somewhere… I’ve been told it’s because of their laidback nature, haha. I should borrow some of it for a day… been feeling a bit tense lately._

_School is still hard. I thought it would be easier by now but I’m still struggling almost as much as I did when I got here. I know it’s unrealistic to think I’d be just as good as everyone else but… I’m still lagging behind and I have to work three times as hard as everyone else just to keep up. Not only that but in swimming too…_

_Well, I don’t want to think about that much. I’m still a lot slower than my team and I can feel my dream getting further and further away. What’s the point of doing this if it won’t make a difference? I still love swimming (of course!) but I’m finding myself less eager for practices. I’ve just got to push myself more and I’ll get there!! When I come home, I’ll beat you for sure!! You just wait and see :P_

_Oh yeah, I’m coming back in winter… we should definitely race for sure!! I’ll show you how much stronger I’ve become!!_

_See you then,_

_From Rin._

A pit had formed in Haru’s gut as he finished reading. This letter was before their race in middle school. This letter was when Rin was scrambling to keep his faith in himself from slipping. Haru remembered that day so clearly that he wouldn’t be able to forget it if he tried. He blinked, dispelling the images of Rin’s darkened face that had appeared before his eyes.

He picked up the next envelope, dated a little while after the winter. It was shorter and a little crinkled. He flipped it open, trying to keep the pit in his stomach from expanding.

_Haru,_

_I’m sorry for our race. I needed to prove myself - to who? I don’t know really. My dad, maybe. Myself? You…_

_That day could have been good, probably, but I ruined it. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t swim anymore. My times are getting slower and slower and I can’t improve them at all._

_Not only that, but everything else is getting harder too. I’m struggling in school despite how hard I try. I miss being home, where everything is familiar. But I guess if I came back, it would all be different anyway…_

_I don’t know why I’m writing this. I don’t intend to send it, and even if I did, why would it matter? You probably hate me now after that race, right… hahaha._

The letter ended there. While the content was nothing new to Haru (it had once been the subject of many late night talks), the words when written in Rin’s own handwriting caused a dull ache in Haru’s throat.

The final letter was shorter than all the others, bearing only a few lines of text.

_All of my efforts towards this “dream” of mine have been for nothing._

_I’m coming back to Japan next year. I’m quitting for good. I won’t waste my time like this anymore._

Haru recognised those words all too well. They’d been thrown at his face in despair a number of times over that summer. Quitting, he thought. Too many times had Rin almost thrown it all away.

He slipped the letter back into the envelope and slung the rubber band back around the bundle. He kept aside the photos from the first letter, thinking that it would be a waste to let them stay lost in boxes forever.

The sounds of Rin stirring from his nap drifted through the house. Haru placed the letters back in the box and tiptoed downstairs.

Rin was a mess of red hair and bleary eyes, shoulders draped in a thin blanket. Haru crept up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. Rin started, before relaxing.

“Wh-” Rin croaked. “What’s the matter?”

Haru didn’t respond, instead burying his face into Rin’s shoulder.

“O-oi, Haru, what are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

Haru could see the blush begin to creep up Rin’s neck.

“I’m just glad you came back.”

**Author's Note:**

> the product of much uncertainty and anxiety is now out of my hands for good! thanks to everyone who told me a firm "NO" during all of my many "i can't do this i'm gonna quit i'm gonna delete it all" moments :') love ya
> 
> hope you all enjoy the rest of rinharuweek!
> 
> title (partially) from letters by matt corby


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